"This treatment is an insult...
Relations with the U.S. and China must be made equal"
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joonpyo referred to the mass arrest of Korean workers at the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant construction site in Georgia as a "deliberate provocation," and advocated for South Korea to pursue its own nuclear armament.
Candidate Hong Junpyo, who was eliminated from the third round of the People Power Party's 21st presidential candidate primary, is listening to the impressions of the advancing candidates at the People Power Party Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of April 29, 2025. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
On September 13, Hong wrote on Facebook, "Even if the current administration is pro-China and pro-North Korea, being treated this way by our ally is an insult and a disgrace," reiterating his position.
He continued, "I'm not saying the government should respond emotionally, but it should act wisely instead of stubbornly. I don't think it is appropriate for the Korea-U.S. summit to take place as a sort of inauguration ceremony after a change in administration." He then questioned, "Even now that we've become an advanced nation, am I the only one who feels that we are still seen as being in a subordinate relationship rather than an equal one?"
Hong added, "Isn't it time to shift our relationship with China, which broke free from a subordinate status in 2000, to one between equal parties?" He wrote, "That is why I insist that, even if we have to endure all kinds of difficulties, we should consider pursuing our own nuclear armament like North Korea."
Previously, on September 4 (local time), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a raid targeting undocumented immigrants at the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant construction site in Savannah, Georgia, arresting a total of 475 people.
Of those arrested at the site, 330 individuals, including Korean nationals and foreign nationals, arrived at Incheon International Airport the previous day on Korean Air charter flight KE9036, thanks to active intervention by the South Korean government.
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